5 Best Moments From Debut of 'Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'

2 years ago

Monday night marked the beginning of a new era … The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!

And the premiere was just as fun and entertaining — and full of surprises — as Jimmy promised it would be.

In his opening monologue, the comedian joked, “I’m Jimmy Fallon, and I’m your host …. for now,” referencing Conan O’Brien‘s brief tenure in the same job in 2011 before it was given back to Jay Leno.

Jimmy then gave props to his parents, and when the camera panned to them … they had nosebleed seats. Watch below at 2:24:

Jimmy also handed out Tonight Show superlatives to the Olympians in Sochi. The first went to American snowboarder Chas Guldemond, to whom Jimmy awarded Most Likely to Host an Award Show on HGTV.

Following the monologue, Jimmy took a seat at his desk and expressed his appreciation to everyone for their support. “I wanna say thanks to all the fans for their support. And to my buddy who said that I’d never be the host of The Tonight Show — and you know who you are — you owe me one hundred bucks, buddy!”

Then a parade of celebs, including Kim Kardashian, Mariah Carey, Tina Fey, and Lindsay Lohan all came out one by one to give Jimmy $100 (Stephen Colbert paid his debt in pennies, naturally)

Jimmy’s first guest, Will Smith, then pulled off “The Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing,” a variation of Jimmy and Justin Timberlake’s wildly popular “History of Rap.” This new version included Jimmy and Will in overalls while pulling off moves such as “The Cabbage Patch,” “The Running Man,” “The Humpty Dance,” and “The Steal the Face.”

Jimmy’s first musical guest, U2, closed out the show by performing their brand new single, “Invisible,” on the roof of Rockefeller Center … and in the freezing cold!